Haunted 307: St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Cheyenne

Is there a haunting presence in the tower of a place of worship in Downtown Cheyenne, or is there something even more sinister located within the tall and intimidating building? Today on Haunted 307, we explore the haunting tale of St. Mark's Church tower in Cheyenne.

The main building of the church was completed in 1868, with construction on the grand bell tower starting shortly afterwards, but taking decades to finally finish and being completed in 1927. Local legend says that the reason it took nearly sixty years to complete is because masons working on the tower kept disappearing.

In 1966, an elderly man came to confession at the church and told the story of being hired to work as a mason on the bell tower in his youth. He said that his companion slipped and fell to his death, and in the man's panic, he stuffed the body into an unfinished section of the bell tower and sealed it with stones and cement. This story has not been confirmed, and the name of the man who confessed this grisly tale to the pastor has never been found.

It's said that patrons attending the church still occasionally hear whispers and footsteps in the church, including one clear voice that one said in the middle of mass "There's a body in the wall." Sometimes, the sound of a pipe organ can still be heard echoing in the tower, despite the fact that the organ was removed from the church decades prior.

The scariest tale of St. Mark's Church, however, comes from the late 70s and early 80s, when the bell tower was opened for public tours around Halloween. A local Cheyenne DJ tried to spend the night in the tower, accompanied by a popular Denver psychic, Ms. Wright. Overcome with dreadful feelings, balls of light following them up the stairs and dancing in the cemetery below, and even experiencing loud bell ringing and a slimy substance oozing from the walls. The scene sounds like it's straight out of the Amityville Horror. Over the loud bell ringing, a man's voice shouted roughly at them to "Get out while you still have your mind."

The overnight visit was cut to just 15 minutes, and the unnamed Cheyenne DJ has asked for his privacy regarding the incident, being reluctant to talk about the experience.